Interview with Collagist, Peter Nudo

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How did you get started doing what you do?
My dad gave me Photoshop 5.0 and I started messing around. The first “project” I did was making my friends’ heads bigger to look like aliens.

How would you describe your creative style?
Vibrant and thoughtful.

What’s your inspiration?
Art that makes you ask the question “how?” I want to surround myself with artists that are better than me and learn from them. I’m constantly trying to figure out a new technique or simplify something I’ve done a million times before. You’d think by engrossing yourself in an application like Photoshop for over a decade you would know it inside and out, but you don’t. Everyday I’m learning something new.

What is art to you?
If you’re scrolling down your Instagram feed and pause on the piece for more than 1 1/2 to 2 seconds.

What does your typical day look like?
Rainy and cold, but soon to be sunny and Bahamas.

How long does it typically take for you to finish a piece?
Anywhere from 4 hours to 2 weeks. Typically the longer pieces are more for me than you.

How do you keep motivated?
There’s not enough hours in a day to do everything you want to do. I’m lucky enough to do UI/UX design during the day and graphic design during the night. They’re two different mediums and when I’m not doing one I’m excited to finish and started the other.

What do you hope to accomplish with your work?
I want something where my friends think it’s cool to hang a piece of mine up in their house. I want my kids to think dad wasn’t just a lame dude with jokes but at one time dressed cool and did some art. I want my mom and dad to see something I had done by someone they know and realize it wasn’t just a weird hobby.

What do you want others to take away from your work?
Steal and make it better. Let’s learn and share and adapt from one another.

What, if anything, would you tell your younger self?
Don’t stress on math.

What’s the best advice you’ve been given?
“If money wasn’t a problem, what do you want to do” – Mom and Dad.

Any words of wisdom to aspiring artists who want to pursue a similar career?
Find about 3-5 artists you love and copy them. Don’t be afraid to let them know so either. Figure out how and why they did something and try and master it.

What are your thoughts on art school?
I was self taught from 13+ and I still went. I shouldn’t have, but I don’t regret it.

How could the art industry become better in your opinion?
Stop being so fucking safe and take more risks. Artists tend to follow their own successes without straying too far away. I’d love it for us to kind of do our own thing without having to think if it’s going to get the likes the last one got or more. I don’t want to create art FOR the platform that is allowing us to showcase it. I want to create art for me and fellow artists that appreciate it and want to learn and build from it.